backups

Hugo wants to know why companies pay ransomware when they should normally have a backup to their data and network. Leo says that's a good question. Oftentimes, though, the ransomware isn't triggered right away. It lies in wait. Meanwhile, hackers browse around, looking for valuable data to steal and other weaknesses. The hackers will also look for where the backups are stored and seek to disable the backups or lock them up as well. Then, once the recon is done, the malware is triggered, bringing the network down.

Karen got a Lenovo Yoga laptop. How does she back up her computer? Leo says that there's a utility on the machine that will enable her to make an image backup. Windows Key. Type Backup. At the very bottom, go to backup and restore for Windows and then create a system image. Then you can make an image of it to an external USB drive. Leo says to make two images. One a virgin system image, and the second after you've made it just the way you want it. Then back it up periodically to keep it up to date.

Glen wants to know if ransomware can happen if you unplug your backup from the network. Leo says not until he plugs it back in. But it's less likely with a home-based system than say, a commercial network. So clean up the infected computer before reconnecting the backup, otherwise, it could infect it. A lot of ransomware also has time-released capability. It may not infect right away. So if Glen has backup unplugged from the network, he should keep it that way until he's wiped the hard drive and removed the ransomware. 

Steve's data center got attacked by ransomware. Fortunately, they had two locations and was able to shut one down, clean it, and then reinstall with only 3 hours of downtime. Leo says that's fantastic. But a hot backup can let the ransomware spread to your backup. So the key is to keep the second network only connected every three hours. That will give time to take down the infected network before the next sync connection time. 

Phil has noticed that Carbonite's backup fees keep going up, and they seem to be more focused on business plans lately. Leo says that business is where the real money is, but Carbonite is still doing consumer backup plans. But if Phil has several cloud-based hard drives, does he really need it? Leo says that's only something Phil can answer. But if Phil is a photographer, he really needs to back up his data using a 3-2-1 backup strategy. Three backups, on two different forms of media, one off-site.

Jeff is worried about whether his personal data has been compromised after his Mac was stolen. Apple says not to worry about it. Leo says that if he turned on FileVault, then he'll be OK. If he didn't, then they can hack into his Find My iMac account to find out where he lives. Leo recommends clearing out his FindMyiMac searches and block anyone who may have gotten into it. More likely, they just tried to sell it or pawned it. Apple may be able to remote wipe or brick it. But he shouldn't try and go get it. That would be dangerous. He should just turn over the data to the police.

Brian tried to rename a file and ended up renaming hundreds of them. How can he undo that? Leo says it's a common issue, and if he accidentally hit an asterisk while typing (which is on the 8 key), it could rename everything pretty easily. The good news is that it assigned a number to each duplicate name, so it doesn't overwrite the file. Brian just needs to figure out which file is which. There's an easy fix. Fortunately, Brian uses Carbonite, so he can just restore his backup.

(Disclaimer: Carbonite is a sponsor.)

Brian is a wedding videographer and he's noticed that Time Machine hasn't been backing up his footage for about a year. Leo says that the first thing Brian should do is stop using Apple's Time Machine. It's terrible and everyone knows it. Leo says that Brian should rethink his strategy because he's a professional and It's even more important that he doesn't lose data. Leo advises reading Peter Krogh's DAM Book. He can also go to DPBestflow.org. He should look under resources.

Beth bought Microsoft OneDrive and she backs up her data files on it. But she has two versions of it. Leo says one may be the backup of her tablet files. If they're supposed to be the same, she'll need to make sure they are synced before she deletes one. Dropbox may be a better option because it would tell her which drive is the backup drive. Leo also recommends backing it up locally and then she can delete one.

Bob wants to back up everything on his computer all at once. Does Acronis True Image do that? If not, what can? Leo says backup is a complex issue with different needs for different users. Restoring can be critical, especially in business. Acronis True Image is a very good solution, as is DriveSnapshot.de and Drive Image. CloneZilla is one for Linux.